Three Laurel County schools received a total of $7,200 in PRIDE grants Monday, funds that will be used to help students learn about the environment. Statewide, PRIDE doled out more than $230,000 to 70 schools in 38 counties.

South Laurel High School received $3,250 of the sum to build an aquaculture center, which will enable about 250 students to raise and study tilapia.

“They’ll be weighing them, measuring them, testing the water quality,” curriculum coach Shannon Ball explained.

The center will be located in the back of the school’s greenhouse and will be made up of three big tanks, which will house the fish.

Agriculture teacher Jason McWhorter said he plans to collect rain water to fill the fish tanks, after which the water will be used in the greenhouse.

“I can take that water with some protein value in it for the plants and use it as a natural fertilizer,” he said.

He feels the project will be a useful lesson for students.

“It’s just expanding agriculture,” he said. “It’s showing them the different aspects that’s there. So many people think agriculture is just cows and pigs.”

The funds will also pay for educational materials for the school’s science enrichment class. As part of the program, teacher Carrie Kirby has her students teach science lessons to elementary school kids.

SLHS’s application of the funds is exactly what PRIDE officials like to see.

“Our goal is to help educators create fun, memorable lessons that will lead students to take care of the environment,” said Tammie Wilson, vice president and chief operating officer for Eastern Kentucky PRIDE. “The grant applications showed that educators have solid project ideas, but they need resources to make their plans a reality, and that’s where the PRIDE grants make such a difference.”

Cold Hill Elementary also received $3,250, which will be used to buy more teaching kits, science modules and a traveling in-classroom sink for the science lab. Monies will also be used to buy a tiller for the school’s garden.

Fifth grade teacher Darrin Hacker was happy to receive the grant.

“It’s absolutely wonderful, no doubt,” he said. “It brings students more awareness about the environment and how they affect the environment.”

North Laurel Middle School was handed $700 to pay for teaching resources and books, including “One Day in the Woods.”

From the book, students will make environment-based flyers, information packets and coloring books that will be used by elementary students in the district.

Laurel County has received funds from PRIDE for the past nine years, much of which have been awarded to North Laurel Middle School.

“We’ve already about got everything we need there,” Ball laughed.

She added the funds have really made a difference for students.

“It’s really neat to see how the kids really become leaders when they go out (to the outdoor classroom) — especially the ones who aren’t leaders in the classroom,” Ball said. “And they beg to go out there. They really love it.”



Staff writer Tara Kaprowy can be reached by e-mail at tkaprowy@sentinel-echo.com.